Anyone invited by the province to get their booster shot should go ahead and book it, even if it’s only been four months since their second shot, says provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Henry acknowledged this week that there have been “confusing messages” about how long to wait before a booster, and apologized for the fact that some clinics were not aware seniors could be coming in for boosters as early as four months after their last shot.
“We have a number of clinics in many different places, and that message didn’t necessarily get to everybody, that some people will be in slightly before their six months — some of them may be around four or five months,” said Henry. “If you have your invite, it is safe and it’s recommended for you to go out and get your booster dose right now.”
After days of confusion, a Cordova Bay couple got their booster shots Friday after hearing they should go ahead.
Louise and Ian Smith, both in their 70s, were invited on Monday to get their shots this week. As healthy seniors living in the community and only four months out from their second shots, however, they were concerned about being turned away at the vaccination clinic.
The Smiths had read about Qualicum’s Sandra Sneddon, who was turned away for her scheduled booster shot last week at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre — after receiving an invitation to book — because she was not six months out from her second shot. Based on that, husband David Sneddon, 84, cancelled his booking for a booster.
All this led the Smiths to question the best time to get a booster for the most robust immune response. A Get Vaccinated call taker suggested to the Smiths that six months was best, and an online search of provincial government health information said the same.
The Smiths were not alone in their confusion.
“I’d like to do what’s best for my health and it was a little unclear to me what the advice was,” said Louise Smith.
Public health officials are seeing breakthrough cases in seniors, particularly people over the age of 70. Most of them received the vaccine early in the COVID-19 immunization program because they were at highest risk.
A large number of these people are eligible for boosters in late December. If they all got their shots then, there could be a bottleneck.
Henry said public health officials want to move up the booster shots to “get those people at highest risk their booster dose as soon as possible during this highest-risk period.”
Any time after eight weeks is the minimum, she said, “but four months is fine, five months is fine.”
Some people who are younger and healthier might get their booster invites a little bit later, Henry said.
Dr. Richard Stanwick, chief medical health officer for Island Health, said while a six-month interval between second and third doses might be optimal, the greater concern is waning protection as the flu season begins and more people congregate indoors.
“So it’s basically balancing the risk,” said Stanwick. “Some people are quite adamant they want to wait six months and we would never force anything.”
Seniors who identify as healthy and working and living in the community might be on multiple medications and therefore might be more vulnerable, said Stanwick. Public health would rather give anyone over 70, and especially 80, their boosters now, said Stanwick.
“I’d say don’t wait,” said Stanwick, adding many people want this direction formalized to avoid confusion. “If it’s written down by Dr. Henry as an assessment of risk, it will make it a lot easier in terms of having this discussion with our seniors. It’s an evolving policy.”
On Friday, Health Canada approved the use of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine as a booster shot for people 18 and older. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved as a booster earlier in the week.
Stanwick reminded people to keep gatherings small over the next few months and consider organizing outdoor activities if meeting with multiple family members.
